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'Clock ticking' for Filipinos in Sabah

FILIPINOS IN SABAH. A villager lets his cocks fight in Tanjung Labian in the area where the suspected Philippine militants are holding off near Lahad Datu on the Malaysian island of Borneo, on February 17, 2013. AFP PHOTO / MOHD RASFAN

MANILA, Philippines - The "clock is ticking away" for the Filipinos defying Malaysian security forces in Sabah as the deadline for the self-proclaimed royal Sulu army to leave the state expires in a few hours.

The Star said the group led by Raja Muda Azzumudie, the brother of Sulu sultan Jamalul Kiram III, has been ordered "to stay put in the village till the Sabah claim demands were discussed, but to avoid violence."

President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday stressed that sending armed men to Sabah is not the right way to resolve the Philippines' historical claim over the Malaysian state formerly part of the Sulu Sultanate. He added, "we have to have first a resolution to the current crisis and later on a long-term solution to this dispute."

Sulu and its sultan once controlled parts of Borneo, including the site of the current standoff between a group of Filipinos and Malaysian security forces.

The heirs of the sultan have been receiving a nominal yearly compensation package from Malaysia under a long-standing agreement for possession of Sabah, a claim that has not been actively pursued by the Philippines since 1964. - with reports from Carlos Santamaria/Rappler.com

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Welcome to Rappler, a social news network where stories inspire community engagement and digitally fuelled actions for social change. Rappler comes from the root words "rap" (to discuss) + "ripple" (to make waves).